Wet tissues dispenser

ABSTRACT

A dispenser ( 1 ) for a pack of wet wipes, has a stiff plastics material body ( 2 ) with a peripheral mounting flange ( 3 ) for attachment to a sidewall of a pack of wipes. A tear-open closure ( 4 ) is integrally formed with the body ( 2 ). A portion of a periphery of the closure ( 4 ) is tearable away from the body ( 2 ) to leave the closure ( 4 ) attached to the body ( 2 ) by a hinge ( 5 ). The closure ( 4 ) is mounted at an opening in the body ( 2 ) across which is stretched a silicone membrane having a circular dispensing opening through which wipes are dispensed from a flow-wrap plastics pack of wipes on which the dispenser ( 1 ) is mounted.

This invention relates to a wipe dispenser, and in particular to aportable wipe dispenser for wet wipes.

In the prior art it is know to provide wet wipes in the form of a rollwhich is housed within a dispenser comprising a cylindrical container ofrigid plastics material. Wipes are fed from a centre of the roll outthrough a central dispensing opening in a top of the container and tornaway from the roll along perforated lines for use. A lid is usuallyprovided to cover the top of the container when not dispensing wipes tolimit moisture loss. A problem with this type of dispenser is that itgenerally can not handle thicker fabrics (e.g. 30-60gsm) satisfactorily,such fabrics now being common in baby care and skin care products.Further, the container is a relatively expensive type of packaging whichis typically discarded after use. Also, it may not be sufficientlyairtight or the cover may be removed or simply left open leading tomoisture loss from the wipes. Finally, the container is relatively bulkyand is therefore not conveniently portable for example in a handbag orthe like.

In another known type of dispenser there is provided a reusable plasticstub containing a stack of wipes which may or may not be flow wrapped.Replacement packs of wipes are available for recharging the tub.Unfortunately this dispenser is relatively bulky and cumbersome evenwhen empty. It is also awkward and tedious to prime a dispensing openingof the dispenser with a leading end of the topmost wipe. From amanufacturing point of view the dispenser is relatively expensive toproduct with too many components.

It is also known to provide a stack of wet wipes in a flow wrappedplastics package. A dispensing opening is provided at a top of thepackage through which wipes are pulled from the top of the stack. Thisdispensing opening is covered when not in use by a peel and resealsticker. Typically, the sticker fails after relatively few uses and thisleads to a severe drying out problem with the wipes. To address thisproblem it is known to attach an injection moulded plastics lid assemblyover the dispensing opening which can be opened for dispensing wipes andclosed to retain moisture within the pack when the pack is not in use.However, the adhesive with which the lid assembly is attached to theflow wrap pack may be attacked by the wipe damping fluids leading tofailure. Also, the lid is not airtight so there is still moisture lossfrom the wipes in the pack. Further, generally speaking single-handedremoval of wipes is not possible which is somewhat inconvenient. Also,with these types of flow-wrapped dispenser packs often the wipes fail tocome out of the pack easily or they “daisy-chain” out in quantity withconsequent wastage. From a manufacturing point of view the wipes must bewetted before being packed presenting handling difficulties. Anotherproblem with these types of pack is that they are fairly easy to tamperwith.

The present invention is directed towards overcoming these problems.

According to the invention there is provided a dispenser for a pack ofwipes, including a body having a mounting flange for attachment to aside wall of the pack about an outlet opening in said side wall, a wipesdispensing opening in the body for co-operation with the outlet in theside wall of the pack to allow dispensing of wipes from the pack, and atear-open closure which is integrally formed with the body and extendsacross the dispensing opening to close the dispensing opening, a portionof a periphery of the closure being tearable away from the body to leavethe closure attached to the body by a hinge, an elastic membrane beingmounted on the body inside the closure extending across the dispensingopening, the elastic membrane having a through hole for reception andthrough passage of a wipe for dispensing wipes from the pack.

An advantage of the present invention is that the pack is fully sealedprior to use preventing moisture loss and promoting a long shelf life.Also, to gain access to the wipes the closure must be torn away from thebody of the dispenser and this would give indication of any tamperingwith the contents prior to use. Further the elastic membrane and closurecombine to provide a very effective seal preventing moisture loss fromthe wipes during storage.

The body of the dispenser is of a stiff plastics material which holdsits shape but will allow some bending or flexing of the body.

In a preferred embodiment the closure is defined by lines of weaknessformed by reduced material thickness in the body which extend partiallyaround the closure terminating at a hinge edge of the closure, saidlines of weakness frangibly connecting the closure to the body such thatit can be peeled away from the body along the lines of weakness forhinging about the hinge at an inner edge of the closure.

Preferably the elastic membrane is formed of silicone, rubber or otherresiliently deformable elastic material. The size of the dispensingopening, the resilient properties of the elastic membrane or openingsurround and the interconnection of adjacent wipes are chosen such thatthe leading or outermost wipe can be drawn through the dispensingopening without prematurely parting the outermost wipe from thefollowing adjacent wipe and the force applied by the resilientdispensing opening surround to said following adjacent wipe issufficient to allow parting away from the outermost wipe. As theoutermost wipe parts away, the following wipe will continue to be drawnthrough the opening so that when parting of the outermost wipe iscompleted the leading edge of the following adjacent wipe projectsthrough the opening so that it can subsequently be gripped to pull thenext wipe from the container. It will be appreciated that thisconstruction of flexible dispensing opening is very good at minimisingevaporation and moisture loss from wet wipes in the container.

It will be noted that the dispensing opening may be provided in anysuitable format. For example, it may be provided by an elongate slit orby a circular hole in the elastic membrane.

In another embodiment clamp means is provided for attachment of theelastic membrane to the body the dispenser.

In one embodiment the clamp means comprises a complementary pair ofclamp jaws, namely a first jaw and a second jaw, which areinterengagable to clamp the elastic membrane therebetween.

Preferably one of said jaws is a fixed jaw which is mounted on the bodyand the other jaw is engable with the fixed jaw.

Conveniently the jaws are provided with complementary interengagableformations which are a push-fit together for interengagement of thejaws.

In another embodiment the first jaw has a plurality of spaced-aparthollow posts, an interior of each post forming at least, at a free outerend thereof, a socket for reception of a complementary plug of thesecond jaw for interengagement of the jaws.

In a further embodiment a plurality of the plugs are mountedspaced-apart on a support ring.

In another embodiment the elastic membrane has a plurality ofspaced-apart plug receiving holes which are engagable with the plugs tomount the membrane on the plugs.

In a further embodiment the body comprises a self-supporting panelforming a top of the pack, a collapsible container body being attachedto the panel and forming therewith a closed container for reception andstorage of a plurality of wipes. The term “self-supporting panel” meansa panel which is stiff enough to hold its shape but may possibly be bentor flexed to a certain degree. Many plastics materials would allow this.

In another aspect the invention provides a pack of wipes comprising acontainer with a plurality of wipes therein having a dispenser asdescribed herein mounted at an outlet opening in a side wall of thecontainer.

In another embodiment a plurality of wipes are mounted in the container,said wipes being joined end to end in a continuous web with spaced-apartlines of perforation extending between opposite sides of the web todefine the wipes between lines of perforations.

In a further embodiment the web is folded in a zig-zag formation in astack of wipes. within the container.

In another embodiment a plurality of folded individual wipes are mountedin the container, adjacent wipes being interleaved to form a stack ofinterleaved wipes within the container.

In another embodiment the wipes are impregnated with liquid. Typicallythe liquid might include one or more of a cleaning agent, a disinfectantand a perfume.

The invention will be more clearly understood by the followingdescription of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dispenser according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an underneath plan view of the dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pack of wipes incorporating thedispenser;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 showing the dispenser inuse for dispensing wipes from the pack;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a wipes dispenser according to anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detail perspective view of portion of the wipes dispenser ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a detail sectional elevational view of a dispensing openingportion of the wipes dispenser of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing portion of thewipes dispenser of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a detail sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG.10;

FIG. 12 is a detail sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG.10,

FIG. 13 is a detail perspective view of a panel forming portion ofanother wipes dispenser according to another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 14 is an underneath perspective view of the panel shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of the panel shown FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a detail underneath perspective view showing portion of thepanel of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 17 is a detail perspective view showing of the panel of FIG. 13.

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 to 5 thereof there isillustrated a dispenser for a pack of wipes, the dispenser beingindicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The dispenser 1 is of astiff plastics material and has a body 2 with a peripheral mountingflange 3 for attachment to a sidewall 14 of a pack 12 of wipes 10 asshown on FIGS. 4 and 5. A tear-open closure 4 is integrally formed withthe body 2. A portion of a periphery of the closure 4 is tearable awayfrom the body 2 to leave the closure 4 attached to the body 2 by a hinge5. The closure 4 is mounted at an opening 7 in the body 2 across whichis stretched a silicone membrane 8 having a circular dispensing opening9 through which wipes 10 are dispensed from a flow-wrap plastics pack 12of wipes.

The closure 4 is defined by the hinge 5 formed along an inner edge ofthe closure 4 and a generally V-shaped line of weakness 15 formed byreduced material thickness in the body 2 which extends partially aroundthe closure 4, that is around the sides and outer end of the closure 4.Said line of weakness 15 frangibly connects the closure 4 to the body 2such that it can be peeled away from the body 2 along the line ofweakness 15 for hinging about the hinge 5 at an inner end of the closure4.

Catch means is provided for engaging and holding the closure 4 in anopen position to allow dispensing of wipes 10 from the pack 12. In thiscase the catch means comprises a locking spigot 18 on the body 2 and acomplementary receiver slot 19 at a hinge side edge of the closure 4.Thus when the closure 4 is hinged upwardly into an upright position asshown in FIG. 5 the slot 19 engages with the spigot 18 to hold theclosure 4 in an open position to provide unrestricted access to thewipes 10 in the pack 12. A tab 20 at an outer end of the closure 4 formsa handgrip which can be gripped between finger and thumb to teat theclosure 4 upwardly breaking the line of weakness 15 when initiallyopening the closure 4 and for subsequent opening and closing of theclosure 4. A tongue 21 at an outer end of the closure 4 is engagableunder an associated lip 22 at a front end of the opening 7 to lock theclosure 4 in a closed position. A cut-out slot 23 in the body 2 abovethe lip 22 receives the tab 20 when the closure 4 is shut.

The silicone membrane 8 is clamped on an underside of the body 2 bymeans of a clamp ring 30. The clamp ring 30 has a number of spaced-apartplugs 31 which engage within complementary sockets in tubular posts 32formed in the body 2 of the dispenser 1. The plugs 31 pass throughassociated holes in the membrane 8 to engage and clamp the membrane 8 onan underside of the body 2.

The wipes 10 may be arranged in the pack 12 in any suitable fashion. Forexample the wipes 10 may be joined end to end in a continuous web withspaced-apart lines of perforations extending between opposite sides ofthe web to define the wipes 10 between lines of perforations. The webmay be folded in a zig-zag formation to form a stack of wipes within thepack 12. In an alternative arrangement separate wipes 10 may beinterleaved in a stack within the pack 12.

In use, the dispenser 1 is mounted on a sidewall 14 of the pack 12 aboutan opening in the pack 12. The flange 3 is heat welded, ultrasonicwelded or otherwise attached to the sidewall 14 of the pack 12. It willbe appreciated that wet wipes 10 can be fully sealed within the pack 12prior to rupture of the closure 4. To open the pack 12 the tab 20 isgripped and pulled upwardly to break the line 15 of weakness so that theclosure 4 can be pivoted upwardly about the hinge 5 into an uprightposition as shown in FIG. 5 exposing the opening 7 with the siliconemembrane 8 and dispensing opening 9 through which wipes 10 can bepulled. After removal of a wipe 10 the cover 4 can be closed over theopening 7 engaging the tongue 21 with the associated lip 22 to hold theclosure 4 in the closed position.

It will be appreciated that the dispenser 1 according to the inventionhelps minimise moisture loss from the wipes 10 within the pack 12. Dueto its elasticity the silicone membrane 8 effectively seals the interiorof the pack 12 preventing moisture loss. While a tip of the uppermostwipe 10 will extend through the opening 9 this is protected againstmoisture loss by virtue of the closure 4. A double barrier againstmoisture loss is thus provided by the closure 4 and the siliconemembrane 8.

If desired, the pack 12 may be provided with an uppermost wipe 10 primedthrough the opening 9 in the silicone membrane 8 ready for use. Even ifwhen dispensing a wipe 10 the next wipe 10 is not fed into the opening9, a user can readily easily insert a finger through the opening 9 togrip and pull through the next wipe 10.

It will be appreciated that the invention is particularly useful forcollapsible plastics packs such as flow-wrapped packs. The body of thedispenser is preferably also of plastics material. Ideally the body willbe self-supporting, that is substantially stiff to hold its shape butalso somewhat flexible.

Various ways of forming the resiliently deformable wipe dispensingopening may be provided. For example said dispensing opening may beformed by mounting a separate grommet, strip or membrane of elasticmaterial such as silicone or rubber at an outlet opening of thecontainer. Alternatively, if desired the material of the container abouta periphery of the opening may be constructed and/or treated to renderit sufficiently flexible and elastic to form the desired dispensingopening. This treatment could conveniently be effected during themoulding process where the dispenser body is constructed of plasticsmaterial.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 12 there is illustrated another wipesdispenser according to another embodiment of the invention indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 50. The wipes dispenser 50 has aself-supporting dispensing panel 52 of plastics material. This will bendand flex a certain amount but is generally speaking rigid enough to holdits shape. A collapsible container body 53 of plastics material isattached to the dispensing panel 52 and forms together with thedispensing panel 52 a closed container for reception and storage of aplurality of wipes 54. A dispensing opening 55 is provided in thedispensing panel 52 through which the wipes 54 can be drawn fordischarge from the dispenser 50. A silicone membrane 56 is mountedacross the dispensing opening 55. A through hole 57 in the siliconemembrane 56 allows through passage of a wipe 54 for dispensing the wipes54 from the container body 53 in a controlled manner. A hinged cover 58is mounted on the panel 52. The cover 58 is movable between a closedposition (FIG. 6) in which said cover 58 seals the dispensing opening 55and an open position (FIG. 7) allowing access to the dispensing opening55 for discharge of wipes 54 from the container body 53.

The dispensing panel 52 has a peripheral flange 60 . An upper rim of thecollapsible container body 53 is welded to an underside of the flange 60to form together with the dispensing panel 52 a closed container for thewipes 54. The cover 58 is integrally formed with the dispensing panel 52and is a tear-away cover. An inner edge 62 of the cover 58 forms a hingeconnection between the cover 58 and the dispensing panel 52. Side edges64, 65 of the cover 58 are connected to the dispensing panel 52 by linesof weakness 66 (FIG. 9) of reduced material thickness. A tab 68 at anouter end of the cover 58 forms a hand grip which can be gripped betweenfinger and thumb to tear the cover 58 upwardly breaking the lines ofweakness 66 when initially opening the dispenser 50. Thereafter, whenclosing the cover 58 the tab 68 engages with a complementary receiver 70(FIG. 10) in the flange 60 of the dispensing panel 52 to secure thecover 58 in a closed position.

The mounting of the silicone membrane 56 on the dispensing panel 52 isshown in more detail in FIG. 9. An inwardly extending endless wall 75projects inwardly from an inside face of the dispensing panel 52 about aperiphery of the dispensing opening 55. A channel 76 is provided in thewall 75 for reception of a complementary bulbous edge portion 77 of thesilicone membrane 56.

Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of wipes 54 are mounted in thecontainer body 53 joined end to end in a continuous web withspaced-apart lines of perforations extending between opposite sides ofthe web to define the wipes between lines of perforations.

The web is folded in a zig-zag formation to form a stack of wipes withinthe container body 53 as shown.

In use, the tab 68 of the cover 58 is gripped and the cover 58 is tornaway from the dispensing panel 52 along the lines of weakness 66. Aleading wipe 54 is drawn through the opening 57 in the silicone membrane56 and pulled away from the web along the line of perforations. It willbe noted that the silicone membrane 56 clamps about the leading edge ofthe wipe 54 to seal the container preventing loss of moisture from thewipes 54. Also the silicone membrane 56 holds the next wipe 54 in placeready for gripping and removal by the next user. The cover 58 whenclosed also provides protection against moisture loss. Gradually as thewipes are discharged from the dispenser 50 the container body 53 willcollapse for compactness. Further, because the container body 53 isflexible the dispenser 50 is more readily portable than a rigiddispenser container. This considerable advantage is provided by thedispenser of the invention having a rigid or semi rigid dispensing panelwith the collapsible container body. All the corners and sharp edges onthe dispenser panel 52 are rounded to avoid injury or finger traps evenfor infants and toddlers. The dispenser 50 can be sold with theuppermost wipe 54 primed through the opening 57 in the silicone membrane56 ready for use. Even if a wipe should break off within the containerbody 53 a user can readily easily insert fingers to draw out a leadingedge of the uppermost wipe for dispensing due to the elasticity of thesilicone membrane 56. Further, and again due to its elasticity, thesilicone membrane 56 effectively seals the interior of the containerbody 53 preventing moisture loss. While a tip of the uppermost wipe 54will extend through the opening 57 this is protected against moistureloss by closure of the cover 58. So a double barrier against moistureloss is provided by the cover 58 and silicone membrane 56. From amanufacturing point of view the dispenser 50 is relatively simple andcheap to manufacture, merely comprising three parts, namely thedispenser panel 52, the container body 53 and the silicone membrane 56.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 to 17 there is shown another wipes dispenserindicated generally by the numeral 80. This is largely similar to thewipes dispenser described previously in FIGS. 6 to 12 and like parts areassigned the same reference numerals. The collapsible body 53 is shownin broken outline in FIG. 13. In this case the silicone membrane issecured on an inside of the dispensing panel 52 by clamp means indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 82. The clamp means 82 has acomplementary pair of clamp jaws, namely a first jaw 83 and a second jaw84 which am interengagable to clamp the elastic membrane (not shown)therebetween and across the dispensing opening 55. The first jaw 83comprises a plurality of spaced-apart tubular posts 85 which projectoutwardly from an inside face of the dispensing panel 52. The posts 85are arranged around the dispensing opening 55 and are interconnected bya wall 86 which projects outwardly from the inside face of thedispensing panel 52 and surrounds the dispensing opening 55. The secondjaw 84 comprises a plurality of plugs 88, best seen in FIG. 7, which aremounted spaced-apart on a support ring 89 which interconnects the plugs88. Each plug 88 has a cylindrical body 90 with a flanged outer end 91.An inner end 92 of the plug 88 is tapered to facilitate guiding the plug88 into engagement with a complementary socket 94 (FIG. 16) formed by aninterior of each post 88 of the first jaw 83.

The membrane has a plurality of spaced-apart plug receiving holes whichcorrespond with and receive the plugs 88 to mount the membrane on theplugs 88. The plugs 88 are then inserted in the associated sockets 94 inthe posts 85 to clamp the membrane between the first jaw 83 and secondjaw 84 securing the membrane across the dispensing opening 55.

It will be appreciated that the flexible dispensing opening minimisesthe moisture loss from the wipes. The resiliently deformable wet wipedispensing opening may be formed by mounting a separate grommet, stripor membrane of elastic material such as silicone or rubber at an outletopening of the container.

The wipes dispensers of the invention are conveniently heat welded ontoa flexible substrate forming a collapsible container for the wipes.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore describedwhich may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A dispenser for a pack of wipes, including a stiff body having amounting flange for attachment to a side wall of the pack about anoutlet opening in said side wall, a wipes dispensing opening in the bodyfor co-operation with the outlet in the side wall of the pack to allowdispensing of wipes from the pack, and a tear-open closure which isintegrally formed with the body and extends across the dispensingopening to close the dispensing opening, a portion of a periphery of theclosure being tearable away from the body to leave the closure attachedto the body by a hinge, an elastic membrane being mounted on the bodyinside the closure extending across the dispensing opening, the elasticmembrane having a through hole for reception and through passage of awipe for dispensing wipes from the pack.
 2. The dispenser as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the closure is defined by lines of weakness formed byreduced material thickness in the body which extend partially around theclosure terminating at a hinge edge of the closure, said lines ofweakness frangibly connecting the closure to the body such that it canbe peeled away from the body along the lines of weakness for hingingabout the hinge at an inner edge of the closure.
 3. The dispenser asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the body comprises a self-supporting panelforming a top of the pack, a collapsible container body being attachedto the panel and forming therewith a closed container for reception andstorage of a plurality of wipes.
 4. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1wherein clamp means is provided for attachment of the elastic membraneto the body of the dispenser.
 5. The dispenser as claimed in claim 4wherein the clamp means comprises a complementary pair of clamp jaws,namely a first jaw and a second jaw, said jaws being interengagable toclamp the elastic membrane therebetween.
 6. The dispenser as claimed inclaim 5 wherein one of said jaws is a fixed jaw which is mounted on thebody and the other jaw is engagable with the fixed jaw.
 7. The dispenseras claimed in claim 5 wherein the jaws are provided with complementaryinterengagable formations which are a push-fit together forinterengagement of the jaws.
 8. The dispenser as claimed in claim 7wherein the first jaw has a plurality of spaced-apart hollow posts, aninterior of each post forming at least at a free outer end thereof asocket for reception of a complementary plug of the second jaw forinterengagement of the jaws.
 9. The dispenser as claimed in claim 8wherein a plurality of the plugs are mounted spaced-apart on a supportring.
 10. The dispenser as claimed in claim 8 wherein the elasticmembrane has a plurality of spaced-apart plug receiving holes which areengagable with the plugs to mount the membrane on the plugs.